Reply
Thu 28 Jul, 2011 07:32 pm
Hi:
I have a hypothetical sci-fi question. Let's say that my entire central nervous system is somehow made physically-invincible and immortal. What signs and symptoms will occur if -- by magic -- all my cardiac muscles enter a state of sudden, complete, and permanent relaxation and totally ignore any commands from my body's regulatory systems [including its own pacemaker] to un-relax?
Here are some of the symptoms/signs I think I'd experience/display during the process of non-CNS tissues of my body dying:
1. Cold and pale skin -- due to peripheral vasoconstriction caused by the CNS's attempt to draw blood circulation to the inner body and vital organs.
2. Dizziness, vertigo, deafness, tinnitus and loss of the sense of balance -- due to damage to the inner ears and peripheral acoustic nerves.
3. Disruption of voluntary movements -- due to damage of peripheral motor nerves.
4. Numbness and paresthesias -- due to damage of peripheral sensory nerves.
5. The release of pain-relieving endorphins -- due to serious metabolic insult to most of the body. Extreme injuries tends to be painless due to this mechanism.
6. Hallucinations, psychedelic states, dissociation, delirium, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences and other mental disturbances -- due to the chemicals released as a result of the metabolic starvation.
Am I on the right track? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks,
GX
@Green Xenon,
You would have the exact opposite of nerve gas poisoning. The end result would quickly be the same, and that result would have no relationship with immortality.
@roger,
In my hypothetical situation, all my CNS tissues are completely-invincible to the point where they can receive nutrients and keeps out toxins even in the complete absence of blood supply. So did I guess correctly about the signs/symptoms I'd experience in this Sci-Fi scenario?
@Green Xenon,
Plausible, I suppose, but even if you are writing fiction, science or otherwise, don't make the mistake of thing something is so because you say it's so. If you drop a ball off the edge of a table, it has to fall down, not up.